Image caption,

Nick Kyrgios and Aryna Sabalenka were interviewed earlier this month by BBC Sport about the event

By

BBC Sport tennis news reporter

Love it or loathe it, the Battle of the Sexes-style event between Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios has caused quite the stir.

Sabalenka, the women's world number one, faces 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios in an exhibition match on 28 December in Dubai.

The event will be shown live on BBC One from 15:45 GMT.

BBC Sport looks at the key questions going into the divisive match.

Can Sabalenka win?

If any women's player is going to beat Kyrgios, then you would expect it to be Sabalenka.

The 27-year-old Belarusian won four titles - including the US Open - and reached five other finals in a productive 2025 season.

Sabalenka has been one of the most effective servers this season, sitting in the top five for service games won, and has powerful groundstrokes.

The four-time major singles champion has the ability to hit through opponents, though she is still prone to being erratic from the baseline.

Over the past season, where she won 59 of her 71 matches, Sabalenka has looked to introduce more variety into her game with drop-shots and coming forward to the net.

"I feel I will be more prepared than this guy," she told BBC Sport.

The exhibition will be the best of three sets, with a 10 point tie-breaker if it goes to a decider.

According to organisers Evolve, data shows women players move about 9% slower on average than men, so the dimensions of Sabalenka's side of the court will be 9% smaller.

Each player will only receive one serve in an attempt to restrict Kyrgios' power and speed advantage. He thinks that is the biggest leveller.

"You're taking my strength completely out of it," he told BBC Sport.

"Obviously she has a great serve herself, but from the back of the court things are a bit more even.

"The men's game is heavily reliant and dominated by first serve percentage and holding serve quite easy.

"So if you take that away the game becomes a bit more of a grind from the baseline and I think that slightly goes in her favour."

Does it matter if Sabalenka loses?

Some see the match as harmless entertainment that will attract a newer, younger audience in the age of social media.

Others believe it is a misguided venture and, if Sabalenka loses, will create an opportunity for women's tennis to be belittled.

Sabalenka disagrees.

"I am not putting myself at any risk. We're there to have fun and bring great tennis. Whoever wins, wins," she said.

"It's so obvious that the man is biologically stronger than the woman, but it's not about that.

"This event is only going to help bring women's tennis to a higher level."

Critics have questioned Kyrgios' suitability as the male protagonist, given he admitted assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2021 and has made a series of comments which have been considered misogynistic.

Kyrgios says he has not given "one thought" about the event potentially fuelling criticism of women's sport, and insists he is not concerned about losing.

"I'm never worried. I know how I've responded with things in my life," the former world number 13 said.

"This is all a bonus. I've lost tennis matches before, so it's not really a big deal."

How fit will Kyrgios be?

With his booming first serve, easy power from the baseline and creative shot-making, Kyrgios' talent has never been in doubt.

His temperament has been questioned - as has his fitness in recent years.

Kyrgios missed most of the 2023 season and the entire 2024 campaign with a wrist injury that the Australian's surgeon thought would end his career.

The 30-year-old returned to action at January's Australian Open but has not played an ATP Tour singles match since March because of a knee injury.

"In the past year I've had to have some serious conversations with myself about how much I want to dedicate myself," he said.

"I was asking myself if I really wanted to put myself in a pressure cooker – every time I go out there is a lot of expectation.

"But I feel great. Now I'm in my 30s, I have to start looking after my body a little better.

"I know if I can play best of three with a tie-break that's a long way from where I was a year and a half ago."

Is there demand for this event?

Cynics have wondered exactly what the point of the event is.

Sabalenka and Kyrgios insist it is to attract a different audience to the sport, with an emphasis on fun, entertainment and celebrity culture.

"There are question marks - and that scares people," Kyrgios said.

"For us, it is exciting and gives us that thrill. I think events like this need to happen more in the tennis world."

The event, being held at the 17,000-seater Coca-Cola Arena, is on track to be sold out.

Tickets range from about £100 in the upper tier stands to upwards of £600 on courtside benches.

"Sport and entertainment is the same thing – people come to watch sport for the unknown, that's why it is not played on paper," Kyrgios said.

"Whether it's good or bad, they want to remember something they are going to see in everyday life."

Billie Jean King, who beat Bobby Riggs in the second Battle of the Sexes match in 1973, hopes it will be a "great" match but says it is "not the same" as her era-defining event.

King's victory over former Wimbledon champion Riggs - a 55-year-old self-proclaimed chauvinist - was a landmark moment in the fight for gender equality and laid the path for equal pay at the top of the game.

"Ours was about social change; culturally, where we were in 1973. This one is not," King told BBC Sport.